Over the years the product mix at both the meat and fish departments of the local supermarket as well as at the local butcher shop have changed. Whereas formerly all meat, poultry and fish were fresh, today many products arrive in a frozen state to be thawed by the vendor for sale to the ultimate consumer. Such products include whole chickens, slabs of beef liver, and shrimps among others. There is a need therefor for an easy to use and sanitary means for defrosting such frozen commodities and to permit the disposal of the large amounts of water associated therewith. Such a device should also not tie up the use of the sink, which is often needed for washing and cleaning of tools, the hands and other devices.
While many strainers have been developed for certain needs and uses, none of them does the job of the instant device. The prior art known to applicant includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
0,431,943, Gaugh;
0,893,840, Taggart;
1,191,994, Plerson;
1,669,284, Chetham;
1,853,808, Greenwood;
2,698,450, Mack;
2,671,239, Wisner;
3,392,845, Shapiro;
3,742,965, Hudzlak;
4,025,435, Shea;
4,041,964, Shamoon;
4,066,557, Bonoczi.
Of these patents, Banoczi is for a paint strainer; Shapiro is for skimming; and Shamoon is primarily for use as a cutting board. The remaining patents are for other purposes. None of the references found in applicant's search of the prior art are for the purpose of the instant device.
It is an object therefore of this invention to provide a device for the defrosting of frozen commodities at a supermarket.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device which can mount on a large trash barrel for direct disposal of waste water.
It is yet another object to provide a can strainer with a removable central section to permit easy disposition of solid waste.
Still another object is to provide a lightweight easy to store utensil for use in supermarkets.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the product possessing the features, properties and the relation of components which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.